withtheirtaxes. theuncertainty was horrendous, the mood sour. we were getting all sorts of cross currents about what would happen with corporate and personal taxes. were they going to raise taxes, were capital gains going up? would the alternative minimum tax ensnare millions of people? would businesses have to start a whole brand new round of layoffs? executive after executive came on this show to say, look, we can't do a thing. what's the point? we will just have to undo it. business confidence plummeted, and the idea of forming a new business. well, remember when the ceo of paychex came on and talked about the paralysis caused by the cliff? who would leave his job to start a new business in that environment? okay. retail sales weren't that bad. but they nose dived right at the end of the quarter. retailers were afraid to restock inventory, figuring that spending would drop off the cliff right along with the nation's finances. it was all in all a very bad time for our nation. now, overlay the storm of the century for the northeast, one that shut down the wealthiest area of the country for sev

could happen with the fortune. and really could. it's not till november thatthetaxlawsallow that to be. i do believe it's going to blow a quarter. i think mtw should split itself up into two separate companies. food, service, and cranes. remember those ice machines when you go out to -- ice machines, you feel like you're getting something for free. it's really water. we also get results from bemis. its stock symbol is bms, which stands for buy my stock. here's the stock i mentioned earlier this week as part of the brandnew bull market in packaging of all things. you're going to see i said that. i'm expecting a very good quarter after the close. we get the new one, the ipo, barry plastics. the other packaging bull market player. i think there's a lot to like here too. on the lookout for both of these. if buy my stock goes down ahead of when it reports, buy its stock. all right. now, on friday morning i think you're going to see the contrast between the world's largest oil company, exxon, which has truly become a serial disappointer, and chevron, which has become a company tha